The Commission on Elections (Comelec) reminded the public that exit polls are not official tallies of votes cast in the 2022 national elections.
Poll spokesman James Jimenez issued the statement to warn the public about the exit poll tallies posted on some social media pages as the overseas absentee voting began April 10.
“An exit poll is not the official tally of votes cast…,” Jimenez said. “Remember, overseas votes will only be counted on May 9, after the close of polls.”
In an exit poll, voters leaving the polling center are asked how they voted.
Comelec Commissioner George Garcia advised Filipinos not to take these exit polls seriously.
“Don’t immediately believe exit polls. It is not submitted to the Comelec. Who commissioned that exit poll? And what are the ways to compute the results?” he said.
“The important thing to believe is the result of the elections on May 9. That is when we will count the votes. And therefore when we count those votes, those are the best exit polls,” he added.
With 26 days before Election Day, the Comelec is redoubling its efforts to remove illegal campaign materials posted in public places in Metro Manila.
The Metro Manila-wide “Operation Baklas” started in Malate, Manila.
Under the Comelec advisory, the areas covered are public places in NCR, such as waiting sheds, sidewalks, street and lamp posts, electric posts and wires, traffic signages and other sign boards erected on public property, pedestrian overpasses and underpasses, flyovers and underpasses, bridges, main thoroughfares, and center islands of roads and highways.
Also covered by the operation are schools, public shrines, barangay halls, government offices, health centers, public structures and buildings or any edifice thereof, and within the premises of public transport terminals.
“This activity will be live streamed on the official Facebook page and YouTube channel of the Commission on Elections,” it said.
The program first drew fire when the Comelec began taking down posters on private property. It has since limited the campaign to public places.
Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Police Office has intensified checkpoint operations and the implementation of the gun ban as the May 9 national and local elections draw near.
As of April 10, more than 900 people have been arrested in 21,520 checkpoint operations in various parts of Metro Manila.
These operations also resulted in the confiscation of 454 guns. Those confiscated include 332 short firearms, five long firearms, and 117 improvised guns, replica and “paltik” (homemade).
Also, 3,868 deadly weapons were confiscated, including grenades, explosive devices, and different types of ammunition.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said there were fewer election areas of concern this year compared to the number in the 2019 mid-term polls.
At the Palace briefing, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that from 946 areas in the 2019 elections, the Philippine National Police (PNP) now listed about 300 areas only.
Also on Monday, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) urged Filipinos to safeguard Eleksyon 2022 in all its phases: from the pre-election period to election day, to the post-election period.
Namfrel said it believed that all voters could be “citizen election observers or Bantay ng Bayan” to ensure that their votes were counted correctly and that the elections were held in a way that was fair to all stakeholders.
In a video released Monday, Namfrel enumerated the different violations that citizens can easily look out for during the different phases of the electoral process.
It also outlined how and to whom citizens can report or seek assistance to officially report these violations. These included the Comelec, election monitoring organizations like Namfrel, authorities like the Philippine National Police, political parties, and especially the media.
“Namfrel encourages the distribution or sharing of this video to reach as many people as possible,” the group said.
